1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to automatic watering apparatus for animals such as livestock or dogs. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a float valve for such a watering apparatus, and to the mounting assembly for such a watering apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical automatic animal watering apparatus in the past have utilized very simple float valves which tend to cycle on and off frequently as the animals drink the water from the watering apparatus. Some animals, particularly livestock such as horses or cattle, tend to be spooked by the operation of such mechanical devices, and thus it would be desirable to have a watering apparatus that allows the animals to drink a relatively large portion of the water in a water dish before the float valve cycles to refill the apparatus.
Additionally, prior art automatic watering apparatus have typically been mounted to a fence post or other external structure by directly bolting the water dish to the structure or by attaching the water dish to the structure by very simple brackets, either of which require hand tools to attach or remove the watering apparatus from the external structure. It would be advantageous to have a mounting system for such watering apparatus that allows attachment and removal of the water dish without the need for use of hand tools.
Thus there is a continuing need for improvements in automatic watering apparatus for animals, including improvements addressed to the problems discussed above.